Well, magnets are only part of the story. The miniaturization required of headphone drivers can also be expensive to execute due to the extremely fine manufacturing tolerances involved, but I just don't see a realistic justification for any headphone to cost $4000. I mean, c'mon, is this thing that much more costly to build than an LCD-2 or -3? The most expensive headphones I've ever listened to were the Stax SR009 (~$5200 excluding an amp). They sounded great but unless a powerball intervention is in my future, they are going to remain just a nice experience at an audio show for me. But there's obviously some sort of market there.

Well, magnets are only part of the story. The miniaturization required of headphone drivers can also be expensive to execute due to the extremely fine manufacturing tolerances involved, but I just don't see a realistic justification for any headphone to cost $4000. I mean, c'mon, is this thing that much more costly to build than an LCD-2 or -3? The most expensive headphones I've ever listened to were the Stax SR009 (~$5200 excluding an amp). They sounded great but unless a powerball intervention is in my future, they are going to remain just a nice experience at an audio show for me. But there's obviously some sort of market there.

+1. Any headphone over 2K is out for me. My Audeze LCD'2's to this day make my head spin. I do believe many headphone companies might want to rethink their market. 4K for the Audeze 4? Not me.

It's really more like the headphone market playing catchup with the ultra-hifi market. The more ridiculous you make your "statement" products, the higher the price for your trickle down items which will seem like real bargains.

Every time I read about another $4K headphone, my Sennheiser HD650's and Shure SE535's sound even better to me. Occasional mild EQ makes the Senn "veil" disappear... the Shures don't need anything for me. But like I said, if I win the Powerball, I'm gonna hit Headroom with an order they'll frame and hang on the wall...

If I had the money to sling around, I would pick up a Moon Neo 430HA (or maybe monoblock Benchmark AHB2) and a Schiit Yggdrasil. I've already got the Hifiman HE-6 and I don't see that being dethroned except maybe by the SR-009 (I've previously owned the 007).

I know most of you guys probably don't read head-fi, but there was a huge backlash there on the announcement, particularly in regards to the price. But that's not the interesting part of the story. Fang Bian (owner of Hifiman) fell for the trolls and started fighting back and attacking the trolls in the thread. It was a gloriously clusterschmucker of failed PR. The whole thing ended with basically Fang pulling the Chinese equivalent of Godwin's Law.

As I had predicted in a old thread about the Orpheus 55K, now will appear various hp with high prices due the price of the Orpheus.The guilty is Sennheiser, obviously other hp manufacturers are loving this situation, maybe the AKG K1000 will resurrect from the ashes soon with $10,000 ticket.

I know most of you guys probably don't read head-fi, but there was a huge backlash there on the announcement, particularly in regards to the price. But that's not the interesting part of the story. Fang Bian (owner of Hifiman) fell for the trolls and started fighting back and attacking the trolls in the thread. It was a gloriously clusterschmucker of failed PR. The whole thing ended with basically Fang pulling the Chinese equivalent of Godwin's Law.

Incredible, seems they are a small company.I dont know anyone that read these hp forums the threads are too long, the best PR there is is low price and good custumer service.

I realize the price is high, but being their flagship electrostatic, is it completely outrageous, or "just too high?"

A couple points...1) I was commenting more on Fang's extremely poor reaction to the backlash and his engagement with the trolls. Someone should have ripped the keyboard away from him; those who were reading the thread before moderators swooped in saw the side of a man who got called out for pricing his items specifically to be the "most expensive" for bragging rights, and his childish attempts to cover it up2) the build quality of their flagship headphones is pitiful for the price... I would sooner get an Oppo planar and have something that at least feels professional and secure3) the Edition6 is not the electrostatic, you're thinking the Jade-II or Shangri-La or whatever they're calling it now

As I had predicted in a old thread about the Orpheus 55K, now will appear various hp with high prices due the price of the Orpheus.The guilty is Sennheiser, obviously other hp manufacturers are loving this situation, maybe the AKG K1000 will resurrect from the ashes soon with $10,000 ticket.

As I mentioned earlier, the headphone market is really just playing catch up with the crazy pricing of the ultra high end hi-fi market. Plus all these "statement" pieces should not really be considered for the general public. They are mostly for PR purposes and bragging rights.

You might also want to consider a difference in culture. In the "nouveau riche" Chinese culture, there is a *significant* emphasis on looking and acting rich. Part of that is literally spending money on the most expensive toys and clothes and all that glitters. People wander around shopping malls acting pretentious and carrying empty bags, but these bags are from the elite stores to make it look like they are affluent enough to shop there (and people will pay big bucks for the bags alone). In this arena, Fang has chosen to create a glitzy piece of jewelry that happens to make music. That's not to discredit any of the R&D and everything that went into them, and reportedly they do sound good, but inside sources say he priced it to literally be higher than the Utopia because he desperately wants to have the title of most expensive headphone on the market. Sadly, this fact alone is going to push sales to the nouveau riche in China.

He desperately needs to hire a native English speaker who can handle the PR on this side of the ocean.

+1 on this. I saw a lot of the skirmish over on Head-Fi. It was pretty ugly and darn funny too. Fang wants to become one of the nouveau Chinese riche very badly, if he isn't already.

On another issue, I bought a pr. of HEX V2's used on Head-Fi. They were my first pr. of ortho's and most likely my last. I didn't care for 'em at all. They were detailed and somewhat layered, but lacked any sort of dynamics and bass was non-exsistent. I don't know if this was because they were open-backed or ortho's tbh.

I've owned a number of "then current" flagship headphones (from Beyerdynamic, Senn, Ultrasone Ed.8, etc.) for home use, and finally said the heck with it. I found what I was looking for in the Oppo PM-3, picked it up used for $250. In my opinion, very comfortable, good isolation, and very neutral/even sound. I never would have guessed a headphone this affordable would be this good, and I'm not chasing flagships anymore.